


Your blessings and your curses

by ShiDreamin



Series: Dmcl Week 2020 [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, First Crush, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Pre-Time Skip, Stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:28:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25940614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShiDreamin/pseuds/ShiDreamin
Summary: There are gods who walk among men.They wear cloaks of human skin and animal flesh, glossy eyes that flicker between this reality and their own, a land that lingers above the sky, overseeing the Earth below. The gods bring with them fauna and flora, life itself bending at their fingertips, blessings for their beloved, curses for their hated. It’s said that even in their Earthly form, their godly spirit leaks out, an illuminating light that engulfs all around them with their beauty.Dimitri could have never imagined himself meeting one.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Sylvain Jose Gautier, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan
Series: Dmcl Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1882669
Comments: 6
Kudos: 69





	Your blessings and your curses

There are gods who walk among men.

They wear cloaks of human skin and animal flesh, glossy eyes that flicker between this reality and their own, a land that lingers above the sky, overseeing the Earth below. The gods bring with them fauna and flora, life itself bending at their fingertips, blessings for their beloved, curses for their hated. It’s said that even in their Earthly form, their godly spirit leaks out, an illuminating light that engulfs all around them with their beauty.

Dimitri could have never imagined himself meeting one.

Claude Von Riegan is the most poorly disguised god Dimitri can imagine. His eyes glisten brighter than cut jewels, sparkling daggers that narrow so perfectly as his fingers release the arrows. There are none who wield words quite as lovingly and dangerously as Claude, prose that spills from his mouth betraying neither blessing nor curse until days after.

There are none so beautiful as the man in the shadows, whispering soothing words to the runt animals who hide behind his form, the sun itself distorting to cast its glow across his face.

Claude, Dimitri knows, is a god.

It is near impossible to uncover the identities of the gods during daylight. When they can beckon forward clouds and sun and rain to their call, there is no moment that can properly allow a mere mortal to capture their glamour, the split second when their mask slips and the otherworldly spirit bursts through.

But there are ways to capture their light once the sun sets.

“Hey, your highness! Any plans for the Millenium Festival?” Sylvain’s voice breaks Dimitri’s thoughts with ease. His friend travels through the hallway with an easy grin, peacefully unaware of the mixed fawning and glares worn by the girls behind him. Dimitri manages a nod, hoping that his distracted gaze wasn’t too obvious.

“The Millenium Festival? I don’t believe so,” Dimitri echoes. Much of the academy has been ecstatic with the upcoming festivities, including prayers for the great Goddess as well as her many minor gods. There were plans for a grand ball for every student, feasts with favorites piled high, and Dimitri had even heard rumors that there was a love prophecy floating around some of the female students. He had asked Ingrid, but she had merely responded with a roll of her eyes and a dismissal of the event.

“Stuff like that doesn’t exist,” she had said, shaking her head, “only idiots would believe that.”

“Aw really? Even though you could find your true love under the Goddess?” Sylvain gasps, throwing his head back dramatically. Dimitri swallows a chuckle at the words, glancing away.

“I’m not so sure about that. I’m not particularly interested in the event.” The words feel heavy on his tongue. Dimitri isn’t lying, exactly—he happens to be aware that Claude has intentions to spend the night in the library, and there’s no one else he wanted to see on the night of. If the legends were true, the Goddess’ presence would reveal the hidden gods under her glow.

“Really?” Sylvain repeats, raising an eyebrow. He makes little work of skipping over, gazing out from the window Dimitri was standing at prior to his arrival. Dimitri groans, knowing that there’s little worth moving Sylvain away; despite his appearances, Dimitri is well aware of Sylvain’s clever mind.

He simply wishes it was used for reasons _other_ than trying to decipher his love life.

“Ooh, Hilda? You like them dainty, huh your highness?”

Then again, perhaps the Goddess was sparing Dimitri a life of embarrassment after all. The pleasant weather conditions led to the garden being swarmed with students, making it near impossible to detect Claude hidden away under a tree. He managed a nod, glancing out the window once more. Ah, there she was, her pink hair recognizable even from a distance away, chatting with who he believed to be Marianne.

“She is very… sweet,” Dimitri said. Dainty was not a word he would ever use to describe Hilda, especially after sparring with her once himself. Sylvain hums, nodding.

“You like sweet huh? Someone like Marianne might do you good too, your highness.” Dimitri can hardly help the grimace that passes his face. He finds Marianne lovely, and is in fact quite fond of her, but the idea of chasing after two partners at once is not an idea he’s partial to.

“Or maybe not?” Sylvain laughs, glancing over before returning his gaze to the other students below. “Hmm… well not Ingrid, for sure. You prefer the clever types.” Indeed. “Dorothea? Nah, she’s _way_ out of your league. Though no one can say no to someone that pretty.” While also true, Dimitri cannot help but fidget slightly. He wouldn’t say that he’s particularly attractive, even less so when paired with Edelgard or Claude, but he tries to be presentable at the very least. “Someone creative and cute… How about Bernadetta? Hah!” That is… incredibly unlikely.

Offbeat as Sylvain’s guesses are, Dimitri finds himself quite comfortable in the conversation. Usually talks of romance and the future are rather off-putting, with the treatment of his potential partners as no more than accessories, but Sylvain’s assessments, though incorrect for Dimitri, are kinder than most marriage arrangements.

“Well, I’m beat! I guess all my guesses were off, huh?” Sylvain laughs again, finally turning from the window. He supposes it should be his luck that Sylvain is fixated only on the girls at the academy. Dimitri raises a palm, hiding a smile behind it; as lovely as his friends are, he likes the idea of keeping Claude’s secret to himself. Something special, just between them.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Dimitri hums, nodding. “I am quite appreciative of many of the traits they share, after all.”

“Yeah, you would huh?” Sylvain hums. He glances over to the park once more, fond, before counting off his fingers. “Your taste is pretty good, your highness. Someone dainty, sweet, clever, pretty, creative _and_ cute? I’m pretty sure she’s just not human at that point.”

“Really?” Dimitri is quite certain of the same assessment, though his god doesn’t share the form of a female. Sylvain nods once more, smiling wide before leaning in close.

“So… Claude, huh?”

Perhaps Dimitri isn’t quite so lucky after all.

-

There are many kind words Dimitri could use to describe his friends. They are eager, and brave, and he knows despite some scathing words he can always depend on them to stand by his side, no matter the enemy. Still, there are times where he finds himself biting back words at their expense.

Times like now, watching Sylvain try and miserably fail to convince Claude that his evenings are best spent “under the beautiful sky, but not as beautiful as you.”

“Have you ever thought about how wonderful your skin would look under the stars? Free lighting! Free!”

“Babe is that an arrow in your pocket or are you just happy to spend the night with me?”

“So… the ball… nice night to spend with a nice, long spear, huh?”

“Claude I’m sorry wait please come back don’t tell Ingrid _please don’t kick me from the chess club_ —”

“Sylvain,” Dimitri interrupts, finally unable to suffer through any further mistreatment on his friend’s behalf. His interference may also be the result of Claude’s growing amusement—the glow behind his eyes, though mystifying, was a secret he preferred to keep for himself.

“Oh, your highness! Perfect timing!” Was it really, given that Sylvain dragged Dimitri over here and told him to wait for “his signal”? The one that Dimitri was not told? “I was just telling Claude that he has to attend the Millenium Festival! You know, the lights, the dancing, the _romantic promises_.” Perhaps the only thing worse than Sylvain’s incredibly pointed words was the grin Claude bore at the words, raising an eyebrow at Dimitri over his friend’s shoulder.

“Sylvain,” Dimitri repeats with a sigh, desperately trying to ignore the creeping flush he just knows is drawing upwards on his neck, “please stop bothering Claude. I’m sure he will be quite busy in the library doing research.” On what, Dimitri cannot say. He’s shared more than many nights with the other house leader from dusk to dawn, both flipping through pages telling warped tales, though Claude’s titles never seemed to have a connection. Not one Dimitri could figure, at the least.

“And I’m sure that he’d love to be invited out of the library,” Sylvain rebukes, which would be helpful a horrible attempt at nudging Dimitri’s leg with his elbow aside. Right. Claude glances upwards, expectant, and Dimitri can hardly help his shiver.

He has always known that there was something different to Claude—his air, his smiles, the easy breeze with which the world seems to carry him. Something charming, something delightful, something very real under the layers he wears that seems to draw in even the professor with his glance. Perhaps Dimitri is simply spinning gold from air, but he has seen far too many shed their skins under Claude’s eyes, those all-knowing features, and he finds himself rooted in the spot as those very shining spirits take him in.

What can he say but the truth, spellbound to a god’s expectations?

“Claude,” his tongue weighs on him, a spear within his jaws, “I’d like to invite you out on the Millenium Festival.”

“Dimitri,” Claude smiles back, and this is good, this is wonderful, his name a blessing wrapped in silver and shadow, “I’d love to.”

-

Perhaps the Goddess herself has chosen to watch over Dimitri this night, parting the clouds to allow her mortals to view the falling stars. The air is pleasantly cool against his skin, the tickle of the grass wet under his palms, and when he turns to face his partner his breath is stolen away.

Or perhaps it is Claude who had granted him this view, the stars themselves weaved into his skin.

“This is beautiful. How did you find this spot?” Claude’s voice, ever melodic, dips and spirals in the air, a foggy cloud that engulfs Dimitri so easily. There is something different about his companion tonight, a golden sliver that he so rarely sees under the sun’s glare.

“It was an accident. I just stumbled upon it after asking for you,” Dimitri responds. Perhaps it was Claude who created the clearing, a small spot undisturbed. The forests by Garreg Mach stretch far and wide, but this spot, set upon a small hill offering them privacy from the students and solace by the stars, is one Dimitri had never seen before until tonight, Claude’s hand wrapped in his.

There are no ends to a god’s manipulation. Perhaps, Dimitri wonders, there is a meaning to Claude creating a space just for them.

“Asking for me? Is that a promise?” Claude’s laughter shatters his fantasy with ease. Dimitri sputters, feeling warmth crawl up his back, eyes flickering away from the blinding glow.

“Oh! No, not like—oh, I’m sorry that was clearly inappropriate!” Dimitri is certain if Sylvain were here his friend would be roaring with laughter at his mistake. It is endlessly difficult to separate the knowledge of Claude’s ethereal form from the playful schemer that he feigns, a mask strung so tightly to hide the thrumming blessings of a god.

He wonders, almost constantly, about the man hidden behind. He thinks Claude must be bursting at the seams; beneath his faces, would Dimitri find the sky above them, dyed in gold and glory? Would he see a spirit wielding a bow and an axe, a sword and a helm built of deer and ivory? Would he find nothing more than Claude’s own face, true, leaning forward with that brilliant grin?

Goddess. Dimitri’s face must surely be warm enough to boil an egg on it.

“Dimitri! Dimitri chill, you’re fine. I was just joking.” Perhaps two eggs when Claude chooses to smile, the glimmer of gold against his face sparkling.

“I’m sorry,” Dimitri sighs. He knows, even without a word, that he’s effectively ruined the moment between them. The one he wants is here, a god choosing to tie himself to the Earth to stay by Dimitri’s side, and to think about peering beyond the god’s given form would be unfaithful.

Even if his skin trembles with the thought of those sharp eyes peering into him.

To be entirely honest, even Dimitri is not certain if his tremble is one of joy, or one of fear. The ghosts that haunt them, the ones who leave behind marks on his skin and shadows that seep into the floor, would be visible under any holy light. To be seen by Claude and to be loved would be a blessing.

To be rejected a curse.

“Dimitri.” Perhaps he is being seen after all. He swallows, nodding to Claude, his breaths shallow. If Claude can already peer—if he’s already seen—

“I wasn’t joking. I think I know the truth about you.” Ah.

So it is.

“I see. I’m sorry Claude. I suppose this should have been obvious from the start.” He had been overthinking after all. The clearing around them suddenly seems narrow, crowded, the trees climbing higher in their judgement. Claude is certainly alight again with that mystifying glow, the overflowing charisma even in confrontation, but despite himself Dimitri cannot pry his eyes upwards to meet those piercing ones. “When did you first know?”

“I suspected when we first met actually. There was just something different about you. The light, the skies… everything seemed to work out great. It was like the stars themselves were watching out for you.” When they first met? When they first met…

When Dimitri had taken a glance at Claude and _knew_.

“That’s… I never realized.” In hindsight, it makes embarrassing sense. It would be impossible for a mortal to capture a god’s essence and not be discovered in the process; the high fairy tales spoke of wonder and glory when being accepted by a god, but not a single one mentioned what would happen if a mortal was discovered in the process.

“Well yeah. Don’t worry though, your secret is safe with me!” Dimitri cannot help the smile he mirrors when Claude teases him so.

“Thank you Claude. I will keep yours close, as well.” Perhaps he can be called a fool, but he would consider himself lucky to have been tested only by a benevolent god. The least he can do would be to drop his attempt to capture Claude’s light, and allow him to continue masquerading as a human.

“My what?” Claude echoes, ever bright.

“Your secret?” Claude’s eyes narrow, his smile suddenly a grimace, stockstill. The trees grow, warning, and oh, perhaps Dimitri had trodden too close to the gods after all.

“What… secret…” Would he be haunted? Or would Claude take little pity on the ghosts that hang off his shoulders, and leave him without a bewitchment?

“Your identity?” Dimitri repeats, firm. Let him be cursed then. Let him be ruined, rotten, a terrible mistaken one of a man!

“Huh?!” He would gladly bare it all before a god.

“Your—your status?”

Any god.

“ _HUH?!”_

But Claude especially.

Dimitri swallows, his hands digging through dirt as he clenches them against his thighs. He may give up on his task to set his eyes on a god’s holy spirit, but he would not allow a mask to be fitted so square over his eyes. He would allow let himself lose that sight of his future so easily.

Not one where he may worship Claude in peace.

“Claude I know you’re a god!” Dimitri shouts, finally, an echo of his voice reverberating through the forest tops. Claude stares, his jaw agape, and _oh_ , he may be shocked, and _oh_ , perhaps it is in this moment of surprise that Dimitri can glimpse behind that silver grin. Those frosty green eyes burnt alive behind the curtains.

“Excuse me? Dimitri, you’re the god?!”

“What?”

Claude stares at him, his jaw still dropped, until he groans, sliding his head between his knees, his shoulders shaking. Dimitri panics, wondering if Claude is crying, but he’s—he’s…

Claude’s laughing, infectious, and Dimitri cannot be blamed for his own chuckles. The trees seem to recede, fading to the back, the sky suddenly clear.

He hadn’t thought Claude would look so human behind the mask.

“I just—you really thought!” Claude chokes up between chuckles, and now Dimitri is red, trying to reconnect the words he had apparently so squarely misread. He had been so certain Claude was seeing through him, his secrets, his hauntings, his wants, all through the lenses of a god. The glow, the lights, the way Dimitri found himself unable to calm his palpitating heart. It seemed otherworldly.

He’s forgotten that humans are capable of amazing things as well.

“Of course! How else do you explain how—how perfect you are!” Dimitri sputters. His actions certainly must look foolish now, and in hindsight, he can barely imagine how Claude had decided to spend his time with Dimitri, of all bumbling cowards. It seems quite ridiculous now to think that a god, much less one adorning such a glamorous body, would hold any form of particular favor for Dimitri. Why else would Claude choose to be with Dimitri alone?

Why… else would Claude want him… alone?

“… I guess I could say the same to you,” Claude’s laughter peters off until he is simply gazing at Dimitri. He looks not so dissimilar now to when Sylvain had called out to him, overseeing the courtyard, nor when he had graciously accepted Dimitri’s invitation. Still beautiful. Still wonderful.

Why has Dimitri’s heart refused to slow, even after the lights diminished and the masks eroded? Why does he sit here still, not angry, never angry, even as the gods he envisioned are human? After all his time, and all his trouble?

Why had Claude come with him, laughing at his foolish words, to this hidden clearing? Why had he listened? Why had he stayed?

Why else?

“Claude. I may not have the goddess’ blessing, but I am serious. Could I… ask for you?” It would be too much to ask of a god. It _was_ too much to ask of a god.

But Dimitri finds the idea of asking for another person, a human, the same as him, isn’t too bad.

Claude hums. Smiles. Laughs, just the slightest.

“Lucky for you, I don’t have the goddess’ blessing either,” he says. Dimitri blinks, considering. It’s not a rejection. Sylvain would have taken it just fine, and continued flirting regardless until eventually his partner shoved him away.

But he’s not Sylvain.

“Is that a yes?”

Claude’s grin is all teeth, vicious, dangerous, and then it’s gone, soft, lost in a gentle press of lips against Dimitri’s cheek. Something that catches his breath, something that makes him freeze.

Something that flutters in his stomach, like a blessing from the gods.

“What do you think?”

He thinks his heart might burst.

**Author's Note:**

> MISUNDERSTANDINGS FOR DAYS  
> First entry for dmcl week! Written for the themes: stargazing, day/night  
> I have 2 art pieces planned and 4 fics (this being one), and one chapter update for the dmcl wedding fic! Coming soon near you.
> 
> I couldn't write this in the tags but -> Slight canon divergence for there being multiple gods under Sothis (like if the Saints/Nabateans were treated as minor gods) Claude has made the connection that minor god bloodlines -> crests but most others haven’t. Otherwise this AU is basically the same lol. I'm really into the theories about different gods in regions outside of Fodlan, especially for Claude who refers to them, so it would be very cool if fe3h expanded on that. One day. A remake, maybe??
> 
> If you like my fics, come stop on by my [ twitter! ](https://twitter.com/shidreamin/) I'm hosting a giveaway rn (ending soon) and the prize is a 5k commision piece! Yes, I will write dmcl lol


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